Do You Have Balance or Rhythm?

Change My Life Journal is migrating to The WHOLE Gang. As I consolidate I will repost over time some of the information shared over there. So if you totally missed it I hope you will join in the conversation and share your thoughts and experiences. If you had followed CMLJ I hope you will enjoy the revisit of the topics. You see these posts will be about more than just the food we eat. Our lives encompass so much more. It will also include Primary Foods, the ones you don’t eat but count just as much for your health.

There are two tools I use as a health coach with my clients and in my own life that I think are key. First is the Life GPS® that we use at the Eblin Group and the next is the IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition) Pyramid. They both use almost the same terms about the different areas of your life. They both include spirituality, relationships and our physical life. We cannot work on just one of these areas but look at them all in order to really be healthy. The food we put into our bodies is very important don’t get me wrong, it’s just one slice of the pie as they say.

So with that in mind let’s talk about balance and rhythm.

We are about to start a new month with a clean slate. That’s how I like to think about it. Some areas I really need a clean slate. Some areas I wish they were just clean.

This month I am going to work on how I spend my time. It seems there are things not getting done that really need to be taken care of and there are things I would really enjoy doing just for the fun of it. How can I possibly take on doing something new when I can’t seem to get done my work load I have now? Great question.

I’m a schedule person. I like rhythms to my day and to my week. When those are changed I’m totally thrown off until I can set a new pattern or rhythm. I never think of it as balance. In order for me to have balance I’ll need to be dead. That is the only point at which everything will be in balance.

No, instead now I go for the rhythm. Each day, each week and each month has it’s own rhythm. It’s up to me to make adjustments so I can flow with that rhythm. Either I adjust to the rhythm or I make adjustments to the rhythm.

Does that make sense?

So many people talk about having balance in their lives. Think about that word and what it takes to have balance when you are standing. If you are standing and have balance you are most likely standing still. Now if you are walking a tightrope then you need balance and you are moving usually but for most of us balance requires no movement.

I’m not sure about you but my life is anything but still. Now I do get still moments when I meditate, during yoga and usually when I sleep. I love those moments but they are not the entire day. They make up part of the rhythm of that day.

OK so if you are with me on this I have to ask, what is your rhythm for today, this week, this month and even this year? You can think of it like music, a stream or river or whatever image you come up with that has a rhythm. Look at how you are spending your time. What are you doing and not doing? Are you working at a frantic pace and like that? Maybe you don’t like that rhythm and you want to change it . It’s just a matter of stepping back and looking at our lives.

As you look towards February this week, take the time to observe your rhythm. If you like share what you’ve noticed, what you like and what you want to change. I’m guessing you’ll find lots of both!